Unexpected
by skullprincess120
Summary: Gabriella Montez did not expect a lot of things which had happened to her to happen in life. But, the most unexpected things started happening when she met Troy Bolton who changed her life forever...in a good way. Some parts are going to be M-rated. R & R
1. Chapter 1

"Troy," Amanda Bolton said to her son Troy. "Can you –"

"Get a babysitter to watch Chloe?" Troy asked.

"Fine," Amanda said. "I'll get a babysitter."

Troy sighed in relief. He loved his three year old sister, but, he did not want to spend his Saturday night babysitting her. He brushed his blond hair out of his blue eyes.

"Where are you guys going anyway?" he asked as his father, Jack Bolton reached for the phonebook.

"We are going to a party," Amanda said. "My attendance is compulsory." Amanda was a famous designer.

"Right," Troy said getting up from the kitchen table. "Have fun."

"Wait," Jack said. "What are you doing tonight? And, when will you be home? We can't keep a babysitter past midnight."

"I'll probably be home by then," Troy replied. "There's a party at Zeke's place for the team." Troy was the captain of the basketball team at East High which made him the most popular guy in school.

"Alright, then," Jack said. "Do you know any of these kids? They are listed as babysitters. Rachel Holmes, Katie, Bilson, Gabriella Montez –"

"Wait," Troy said. "I know her. At least, I think I do. There's a Montez in my homeroom. Maybe it's the same girl.

"What is she like?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know," Troy said. "She barely talks. I mean, I said hi to her the other day and she didn't say anything. She just smiled and left. Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever heard her speak.

"I think she'll be good for Chloe," Jack said. "Let's give her a try."

Amanda nodded and Jack reached for the phone. They heard a noise over the baby monitor that sat on the table.

"Chloe must be awake," Troy said. "I'll get her."

Troy ran upstairs to Chloe's room.

"Troyee!" she squealed when she saw Troy.

"Hey, Chloe," Troy said lifting her out of the crib.

"Piggyback ride, Troy?" Chloe said.

"Okay," Troy said and knelt down. "Come on."

Troy took Chloe downstairs.

"Gabriella will be coming at half past seven," Jack said. "But we will be leaving at seven on the dot so, you can introduce her to Chloe and tell her how everything works."

"Sure," Troy said. "I won't be leaving till eight anyway."

At seven o'clock, Jack and Amanda left. Troy lay on the couch watching Chloe play with her toys. Suddenly, she came and climber onto the couch. She curled herself up like a ball and lay on Troy's chest.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" Troy asked hugging her.

Chloe did not answer and he soon dozed off.

At half past seven, the doorbell rang.

"Come in!" Troy yelled, not moving.

A brunette walked into the living room a few seconds later. She smiled slightly.

"Hey," Troy said, getting up with Chloe in his arms. "You must be Gabriella Montez. I'm –"

"Troy Bolton," Gabriella said. "I know."

"Oh," Troy did not know what to say. "Um…this is my sister Chloe. Chloe, this is Gabriella."

"Gab-Gabr-" Chloe tried to say Gabriella's name.

"You can call me Gabi," Gabriella told Chloe.

"Gabi," Chloe repeated.

"Right, what else was I supposed to do?" Troy asked, scratching his head. "Oh, yeah. The emergence numbers are on the fridge if you need them. If something comes up, call me, alright? Don't bother my parents tonight. First impressions are important. I'll be across the road if you need anything. And…Chloe will probably go to sleep in a bit. You can watch the television, use the phone and have a snack from the fridge – there's probably some leftover pasta which you can microwave. Chloe's room's upstairs. She likes to sleep with her toy cat near her and give her a bottle before she sleeps."

"Got it," Gabriella said, nodding.

Troy put Chloe down and she went to her toys.

"I'll see you later, then," Troy said.

"Sure," Gabriella nodded.

Troy walked to the door and then he turned to Gabriella.

"Look, I feel kind of bad leaving you here with Chloe," Troy said. "I mean, you're my classmate and she's my sister. It's a bit weird."

Gabriella laughed and Troy smiled. He liked Gabriella's laugh.

"Bye, Troy," Gabriella said.

"Yeah, bye," Troy said and left.

* * *

Three hours later, Troy found himself next to an extremely drunk Chad.

"That's enough," Troy said as Chad reached for another drink. "You'll pass out in a minute."

"Whatever, man," Chad groaned.

"Zeke," Troy yelled over the music. "I'm going home."

"Why so soon?" Zeke asked and Troy pointed to Chad. "Right. See you later."

Troy nodded. He pulled Chad out of the house and led him across the street to his own house. Chad was yelling at the top of his voice.

"Chad, will you shut up?" Troy exclaimed. "Chloe's probably asleep."

Chad nodded and Troy pushed him into the house. Chad stumbled over the carpet. Troy led him to the living room where Gabriella was watching a movie. She got up when she saw them.

"Help me, will you?" Troy said. "Get him to the couch."

Gabriella ran forward. Between her and Troy, they managed to get Chad to the couch before he passed out. Troy set some aspirin on the coffee table. Then, he got a bucket.

"Thanks," Troy said to Gabriella.

"Won't your mom be mad to find him here?" she asked.

"Not really," he replied. "As long as I'm not the one who's drunk, they're cool."

"Well, since you're here, I'll get going," Gabriella said.

"No, stay," Troy said. "I'll just call Chad's parents and tell them that he's staying over tonight."

"Okay," she nodded.

Troy went to the kitchen and called the Danforths. Then, he went back to the living room where Gabriella was waiting.

"So…" he said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"So…" she repeated smiling at him.

"When did Chloe go to sleep?" he asked.

"A few minutes after you left," she replied. "Why?"

"She'll probably wake up in a few minutes then," he said. "She'll have her bottle and go back to sleep, again."

"I'll go make one, then," she said.

"Nah, it's okay," he said going into the kitchen with Gabriella behind him. "I can make it."

"So, what do you like to do?" she asked him. "I mean, other than playing basketball."

"Well, I like to hang out with Chloe," Troy said and Gabriella laughed making him smile. "I also like playing the guitar. What about you?"

"I'm on the school's Decathlon Team," she replied. "But, you probably don't know what that is."

"Oh, give me a break," Troy said. "Of course I know what that is. I saw you on the finals last semester. I had finished practice and you were writing this really long equation on the board."

"Right," Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious," Troy said. "You were wearing a red dress."

"Oh," Gabriella looked surprised.

"And, you looked really nice in it," he smiled.

"Thanks," she blushed.

"What else do you like?" he asked leaning across the kitchen counter.

"I like singing," she replied. "Not too many people know that. And, I also write some songs."

"You like music?" he commented. "That's pretty cool."

"You would think so," she smirked. "After all, you play the guitar."

Troy chuckled just as they heard a cry over the baby monitor.

"Chloe's awake," he said.

He rushed upstairs with the bottle in his hand. Gabriella followed, but, he did not know that. Gabriella stayed at the doorway watching Troy.

"Hey, Chloe," Troy said, lifting her out of the cot. "What's wrong?"

"Monster chased me," she sobbed.

"Monster won't chase Chloe again," Troy said. "Troy will chase the monster away, alright?"

Chloe nodded and Troy put her back in the cot.

"Here you go," he said handing her the bottle.

Troy watched her fall asleep.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered.

He switched off the light and turned to go. He stopped in surprise when he saw Gabriella.

"That was really sweet," she said, softly when Troy closed the door.

"Thanks, I think," he smiled.

"You think?" she asked.

"Well, guys and sweet don't really go together," he replied.

Gabriella laughed and Troy smiled.

"You're right," she said. "They don't."

"Thanks a lot," he said moving closer to her.

"But, with you, it does," she finished.

Troy blushed. He leaned in closer to her.

"You know, you're beautiful," he whispered, softly.

"Thank you," she said.

She seemed to have a hard time keeping her eyes on his. They seemed to be dropping down to his lips. Troy's forehead touched hers. They heard the front door open and they jumped apart, both, blushing brightly.

"Uh…my parents must be home," he said. "They're pretty early. Usually they stay out really late if they go to a party."

Gabriella just nodded.

"Mom, dad," Troy said walking into the kitchen where they were waiting. "What are you guys doing here so early?"

"Hey, Troy," Jack said. He noticed Gabriella. "Oh, Gabriella, you're still here."

"Yeah," Troy said. "I just got home a couple of minutes ago."

"Here you go," Jack said giving Gabriella some cash.

"I'll get going," Gabriella said.

"I'll walk you to the door," Troy said and they walked out of the kitchen. "Are you walking home?"

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"But, it's late," he said. "Can't your mom pick you up or something?"

"My mom's dead, Troy," she said, softly.

"I'm sorry, Ella," he said, softly. "Listen, I'll drive you home."

"But, your parents wanted to talk to you," Gabriella protested.

"They'll understand," he said. "I'll just get my keys, alright?"

"Okay," she gave in.

Troy went back to the kitchen.

"I'm going to drop Gabriella off, okay?" he said.

"Sure," Jack agreed.

"Don't be late," Amanda said.

"And, Chad's in the living room," Troy said.

"We figured," Jack said.

Troy grabbed his keys and was about to walk out of the kitchen when he saw Gabriella's bag sitting on the table. As he grabbed it a small book fell out of it. It said '_Gabriella's songs_' on the cover. Troy picked it up and quickly put it into his pocket before going outside.

"You left this inside," he said, handing the bag to Gabriella.

"Thanks," she smiled.

Troy threw the keys into the air and caught it again.

"You like to show off," Gabriella smirked.

"What?" he looked confused and then realized what she was talking about. "No, it's a habit."

"Right," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious," Troy said opening the door of his car to her.

"This is a nice car," she said. "Your father bought it for you?"

"Actually, he didn't," Troy said. "I used to work at the Scott's Motor Garage. Kevin Scott offered me a deal. He didn't pay me a salary for three months and if I helped him to fix up this car, I could get it."

"That's pretty cool," she said. "I've never seen you drive this to school before."

"I usually catch a ride with Zeke," he said. "Where is your house anyway?"

"You're going the right way," she said. "Make a right near that coffee shop."

"Is this is it?" Troy asked a few minutes later.

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"There are no lights on," Troy said looking at the house. "Where's your dad?"

Gabriella did not answer. "I'll see you later," she said. "And, thanks."

"You know, thank you doesn't cut it," he said, smiling cheekily.

"Well, what do I have to do?" she asked.

"I promised Chloe that I'll make cookies for her," Troy said. "And, I'm not much of a baker. I was wondering whether you could help me."

"Sure," she said. "When should I go over?"

"Around nine o' clock tomorrow morning," he said.

"I'll be there," she promised.

"And, Ella," he said.

"Yeah?" she looked at him.

"About what happened upstairs…or what would have happened," he began, awkwardly.

"It's okay," she said, quickly.

"Thanks," Troy said.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

Troy leaned over and kissed her cheek, gently.

"Bye," he said, softly.

* * *

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Troy asked his parents back at his house.

"I've got an offer," Amanda said. "An offer which could change everything in my career. I get to expand my line."

"That's great," Troy smiled.

"In New York," Amanda finished.

"That's not so great," Troy said sitting down. He was not so immature to go storming out of the house. "Do we have to move?"

"No," Amanda said. "_I_ have to move. And, as Chloe is only three, I have to take her with me."

"And, there's no way I'm letting your mother go alone," Jack said.

"Which leaves me," Troy finished. "I don't want to move."

"We know that," Jack said.

"Which is why we have come down with a decision," Amanda said. "You can stay here, if you can find someone to stay with you."

"Someone responsible, you know," Jack said. "Not like Chad. Someone more like Gabriella."

"Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"Yes," Jack said. "I talked to Ms. Darbus about her and she's quite responsible. But, I doubt her mother will let her move in with you."

"Her mother's dead," Troy said. "So, you're saying, if I find someone to stay with me, I can stay here?"

"Yes," Jack nodded.

"I'll find someone," Troy said, getting up.

"Good night, Troy," Jack said.

Troy nodded and went upstairs. He flopped onto the bed, sighing deeply. As he turned around on his bed, he felt something hard stick into his side. He realized that it was Gabriella's book and pulled it out of his pocket.

He flipped through it and saw that she had written a lot of songs. He started reading. They were really good. Finally, Troy grabbed his guitar and his own notebook. Keeping Gabriella's notebook open to a page with a song called '_I'm not a girl, not yet a woman_' he began strumming on his guitar.

Three hours later, the once blank page on his own notebook was filled with music notes. On the top of the page, he wrote '_I'm not a girl, not yet a woman_'.

Satisfied with his work, he put down his guitar and glanced at the clock. It was almost half past three in the morning. He closed the two notebooks. He put them on the night table and fell asleep almost immediately, fully clothed.

**A/N I don't know what to say here, except, I hope you guys like this new story. Please review and let me know what you think of it. Thanks=)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hey guys, sorry for the late update. Happy New Year=)**

* * *

"Troy!" Amanda called knocking on Troy's bedroom door. She poked her head in. "It's nearly nine. Wake up. Your dad and I are going out with Chloe. Chad left and he said thank you."

"Okay," Troy said, not opening his eyes.

"Did you sleep in your clothes last night?" Amanda asked.

"What?" Troy opened his eyes. "Yeah, I guess I did. I was working on something pretty late and I fell asleep."

"Oh, well, get up," Amanda said before she closed the door.

Troy heard the front door shut and he fell asleep again. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Groaning, he got up and went downstairs, rubbing his eyes.

"Gabriella?" he asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"You told me to come over to make cookies," Gabriella reminded him. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah," he said. "No. I mean, my mom woke me up a couple of minutes ago."

"Are you going to let me in?" she asked.

"Yeah," Troy stepped aside. "Come on in."

They went into the kitchen.

"Listen, I'll just go and take a shower," Troy said.

"I'll get started on the cookies, then," Gabriella said.

Troy nodded and went upstairs. A few minutes later, he came downstairs wearing only his shorts. He was drying his hair with a towel. Gabriella froze with the cup of flour in midair. She stared at Troy's six-pack. Troy noticed and grinned slowly.

"Am I too hot for you?" he smirked and Gabriella snapped out of her trance.

"Jerk!" she said, blushing as she continued making brownies.

Troy sat down to watch her.

"Are you planning on helping me at all?" she asked.

"I wasn't thinking about it," he grinned. "What should I do?"

"What you're doing is just fine," she smirked. "What did your parents want to talk to you about?"

"My mom got this big opportunity for her business," he replied. "And, they're moving. I have to go with them, unless I can find someone who would stay here with me. My parents want someone responsible. 'Someone responsible, you know. Not like Chad. Someone more like Gabriella.' those were my dad's exact words."

"Me?" she asked in surprise.

"I'm not asking you to move in with me or anything," Troy said, quickly. "But, just out of curiosity, if I did ask, what would you say?"

"I'd probably say yes," she smiled.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, my mom died a couple of months ago," she explained. "I've been staying with my aunt who doesn't want to have me here. And, well, she has always wanted to go to Australia to be with her boyfriend. I turned eighteen last month and she said that I'm an adult and she left. She sold the house and everything. I have two weeks to get out of that house."

"The one I drove you to last night?" Troy asked and she nodded. "What about your dad?"

"Well, after my mom died, my aunt contacted my dad," she said. "You see, my parents were never married. I was sort of a mistake to my dad as my mom told and well, he didn't want anything to do with me, so, my aunt was stuck with me."

"Ella, you've been through a lot," Troy said, softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Gabriella said, quickly. "I mean, I miss my mom but, I never knew my dad."

"So, wait a second," Troy said. "You need a place to stay?"

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"Do you want to move in with me?" he asked.

"I was starting to think that you'd never ask," Gabriella laughed.

"That's a yes, right?" Troy said. "I need to know for sure before I start celebrating."

"It's a yes, Troy," she smiled.

"Yes!" Troy cheered jumping up from the stool and doing a dance around the kitchen.

Gabriella watched in amusement. Troy walked over to her, humming a song and hugged her.

"What are you celebrating?" she asked. "Me moving in with you?"

"Nope," Troy replied eating a piece of cookie dough. "I'm celebrating the fact that I get to stay here in Albuquerque, not that it isn't going to be nice having you around. You can make cookies for me. This tastes good."

"Thanks," she smiled. "Um, you got some flour on your arm."

Troy brushed it off and pulled on the shirt he had brought downstairs just as the front door opened. Gabriella put the cookies into the oven.

"Troy!" Amanda called.

"Hey, mom," Troy said walking out to the hallway.

"Are you baking?" Jack asked sniffing.

"Gabriella is," Troy replied. "I told Chloe I'd make cookies and since I'm not much of a baker, Gabriella decided to help out."

"Cookies!" Chloe exclaimed clapping her hands together.

"Yeah, kiddo," Troy smiled lifting her up and throwing her into the air. "Cookies."

"Listen, we're going out to lunch with your grandparents," Amanda said. "Watch Chloe for us, will you? And, you'll be okay with getting lunch for yourself, right?"

"Yeah, sure, mom," Troy said. "And, Gabriella said that she'd move in with me. She has actually been looking for a place to stay since her aunt moved to Australia."

"Okay," Amanda said, hurriedly. "We'll talk about it when we get back, alright? We just came to drop Chloe off."

"Okay," Troy said. "Bye, mom."

When Amanda left, Troy went back to the kitchen with Chloe.

"Gabi!" Chloe squealed in delight when she saw Gabriella.

"Hey, Chloe," Gabriella smiled as she lifted the little girl from Troy's arms.

"My parents went out to lunch," Troy said. "You want to stay for lunch? I can make sandwiches."

"Sure," Gabriella smiled.

"Troy," Chloe said holding her hands up for her brother. "Chloe want sandwiches."

"Oh, are you hungry?" Troy asked as he hugged his sister. "What kind of sandwiches?"

"PBJs!" Chloe said, happily, clapping her hands together.

"Okay," Troy smiled. "Peanut butter and jelly it is!"

Troy made the sandwiches and Gabriella took them outside to the backyard along with the cookies. Troy went upstairs and got Gabriella's notebook and his notebook. He put them into his pocket and grabbed his guitar and went outside.

"Are you going to play a song for me?" Gabriella asked eyeing his guitar.

"Maybe," he smirked as he sat down next to her and Chloe. He grabbed a sandwich and took a big bite. "So, did you miss something from your bag last night?"

"Huh?" Gabriella looked at him confusedly as she fed Chloe a sandwich. "I don't know. I didn't check. Why?"

"Because I took something out of it," he replied, casually swallowing the other half of his sandwich.

"What did you take?" Gabriella asked.

"This," Troy said pulling out her notebook from his pocket and tossing it to her.

"Did you read it?" she asked.

"Duh!" Troy rolled his eyes. "And, they're really good."

"You think so?" she asked.

"Yeah," Troy said. "I even wrote some music to the one I liked best."

"Which one is it?" Gabriella asked.

"'I'm not a girl, not yet a woman'," he answered.

"Will you play it for me?" she asked.

"Will you sing it for me?" he asked, smirking slightly.

"No," she replied.

"Then, no," Troy said. "I won't play it for you."

"Fine, I'll sing," Gabriella said. "But, you play it once, alright? And, I'll sing it the second time."

"Deal," Troy said taking his guitar. "This is the chorus, okay?"

He started to play and Gabriella watched him. When he started playing for the second time, she began to sing.

"I'm not a girl,

Not yet a woman,

All I need is time,

A moment that is mine,

While I'm in between,

I'm not a girl."

"Whoa!" Troy exclaimed. "You've got an amazing voice."

"Thanks," Gabriella said, shyly.

"Gabi sing!" Chloe cheered.

"You like it?" Troy asked his sister, tickling her stomach and she giggled.

After a while, the three went swimming. Gabriella had gone home and got her swimming suit. About half an hour later, Troy decided that it was time to get Chloe dried off. They went into the house and Gabriella took a quick shower while Troy gave Chloe a bath. Then, after taking a quick shower himself, he went into his room. He pulled on some pants just as he heard a knock on the door. It had also started to rain heavily.

"Come in," he called as he placed Chloe on his bed with his basketball to play with.

"Troy," Gabriella said, walking into the room, only wearing a towel. Troy's eyes widened when he saw what she was wearing and she blushed. "I left my shirt outside. And, well, it's bound to be wet, now, so I was wondering whether you could lend me something to wear?"

"Sure," Troy shrugged. He went to his closet and pulled out his jersey. No one ever wore it except him. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

Gabriella went back to the bathroom and pulled the jersey on. She breathed in deeply. It smelled of Troy and she liked it. It was quite big and covered half her thighs. She walked out of the bathroom and went back to Troy's room. Troy was not there. Neither was Chloe. She went downstairs and saw them in the living room. Troy was staring out of the window as Chloe played with her toys. She walked over to him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Everything's going to change, now," Troy said. "My dad won't be nagging me about basketball and my mom won't be bugging me to do my homework and all. I'll miss that a lot and I'll miss Chloe, too. I've never been apart from my family for a long time. Sometimes when I crash at Chad's place, but, that's just it."

"Do you want to go with them?" Gabriella asked.

"No," he replied. "I want to stay here and graduate from East High. There's only three months left. But, I'll miss my parents."

Gabriella was silent. She was trying not to cry. Troy glanced at her and saw this.

"Oh, Ella," he said as he wrapped his arm around her. "I'm so stupid. I wasn't thinking when I said all those things."

"It's okay," Gabriella said, quickly. "I just miss my mom a lot. I thought she was going to be with me through everything. I didn't expect her to die."

Troy did not know what to say. He rubbed Gabriella's back comfortingly as she wiped her tears away.

All of a sudden they heard a loud crash of thunder. Chloe started crying and Troy let go of Gabriella and hurried over to his sister.

"It's okay, Chloe," he said comfortingly as he carried her to the couch. "It's just a thunderstorm."

Troy hugged Chloe close to him till she calmed down. Gabriella went and sat down next to them.

"Troy, hug Gabi," Chloe told Troy. "She will be scared."

"I think she'll be okay," Troy said feeling Gabriella shift awkwardly next to him.

"Troy!" Chloe said, pouting.

"Okay, okay," Troy said giving in.

He put an arm around Gabriella. Troy could sense that Gabriella was feeling uncomfortable, so he pulled her closer to him.

"Come on," he said. "Don't be so uncomfortable. You're going to be living here, you know."

Gabriella laughed as she snuggled closer to Troy. The three soon fell asleep.

Troy woke up with a jump when he felt someone lift Chloe up from his arms. His mother stood beside him holding Chloe.

"Your father and I want to talk to you and Gabriella about this move," Amanda said, softly, not wanting to wake Chloe up. "I'll go and put Chloe to bed. Your father's in the kitchen."

Troy nodded as Amanda walked out of the living room. He rubbed his eyes and glanced over at Gabriella. He smiled to see how comfortable she had gotten. She had one arm wrapped around his chest as she slept. He did not want to wake her up.

"Ella," he whispered softly.

Gabriella, being a light sleeper like Troy woke. When she realized the position she was in she quickly sat up. Troy suddenly felt cold when Gabriella moved away. He frowned and pulled her back to him. She looked at him with confused eyes.

"I felt cold when you suddenly moved," he shrugged. "My parents want to talk to us about you moving in."

"We shouldn't keep them waiting," Gabriella said as she stood up.

Troy faked a groan as Gabriella held out her hands for him. He took them and got up. He placed his hands on her shoulders as she walked out of the living room and led him into the kitchen." Gabriella said as she stood up.

Troy faked a groan as Gabriella held out her hands for him. He took them and got up. He placed his hands on her shoulders as she walked out of the living room and led him into the kitchen.

"Okay, first things first," Jack said. "Is there something going on between you two?"

"No!" Troy exclaimed his eyes wide open while Gabriella turned red.

"Will there be something going on between you two in the near future?" Jack asked.

"Jack," Amanda said walking into the kitchen with a baby monitor. "Stop embarrassing them."

"It's so funny to watch them when they're all embarrassed," Jack chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Gabriella," Amanda smiled. "My husband loves to harass Troy and his friends."

"It's okay, Mrs. Bolton," Gabriella said, quickly.

"It's Amanda, dear," Amanda said and Gabriella smiled uncomfortably.

"Okay, now here's the deal," Jack said. "We will send you a certain amount of money each month and if you need any more, you can let us know. And, we want you to call at least once every two days."

"Okay, dad," Troy said.

"And, there's one more thing for you, Troy," Amanda said and Troy looked at her expectantly. "Take good care of Gabriella."

"Don't worry, mom," Troy grinned putting an arm loosely around Gabriella's shoulders. "I'll look after her."

"You better," Jack said. "I have a feeling she's going to be my daughter-in-law someday."

"Dad!" Troy groaned dropping his hand.

"Troy," Jack said, suddenly looking serious. "We ran into Kevin Scott today. Remember him?"

"Yeah, of course," Troy replied. "He gave me my first job and helped me with my car. Why wouldn't I remember him? How's he doing?"

"Not so well, actually," Jack replied.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked frowning slightly.

"His mother is dying because of leukemia," Jack explained. "And, he's moving back to England." (Say Kevin's British)

"When?" Troy asked.

"I don't know," Jack said. "Really soon, I suppose…where are you going?"

Troy had already walked out of the kitchen.

"To see him!" Troy yelled back.

Gabriella glanced at Jack and Amanda before going after Troy.

"Troy," Gabriella called right before he got into his car.

"What?" Troy snapped.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, placing her hand on top of his.

"I don't know," Troy admitted. "I never thought he'd move, you know. Come on. I'll drop you at your house before I go."

Gabriella was startled to hear the doorbell ring at her house that evening. She went downstairs to open the door and was surprised to see Troy standing outside her door.

"Troy, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Troy did not say anything.

"Troy," Gabriella said taking his hand and pulling him into the house. "Are you okay? You're starting to scare me."

Troy still did not say anything.

"Okay," Gabriella said. "When you decide to speak, come and find me, okay?"

Gabriella walked back towards the stairs.

"Ella," Troy whispered his voice barely audible.

Gabriella turned around to see Troy striding towards her. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Troy said pulling away and backing towards the door. "I shouldn't have come."

"Troy," Gabriella said, running after him as he went to his car. "Wait!"

Gabriella got into the car next to Troy.

"Troy, you can't do that!" she exclaimed. "You can't just walk into my house and hug me and then leave without telling me what's wrong."

"I'm sorry," Troy said. "I'm just not ready to talk yet. I just needed a hug."

"Fine," Gabriella said. "But, if you want someone to talk to, I'm here. Now, where are you taking me to?"

"You'll see," Troy smiled a small smile.

Troy stopped the car near the beach. He got out and Gabriella followed suit. He walked to the beach with her hand in his. He pointed to the sky and Gabriella saw the sky scattered with stars and a full moon in the middle.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

"He lied to my parents," Troy said, softly. "His mother isn't dying. He is. Kevin's dying, Ella."

"I'm sorry, Troy," Gabriella said. "I know what it's like to lose someone and it's not a nice feeling. I'm really sorry."

"He told me to come over on Monday after school," Troy said. "I can't go. He's so weak. It scares me to see him like that. Will you come with me?"

Gabriella was surprised, but, she nodded. They stayed in a comfortable silence.

Gabriella looked around and suddenly she realized where she was. Her eyes filled with tears as memories came back to her. She pulled away from Troy, not wanting to let him see her cry, and walked towards the rocks.

Troy was surprised when Gabriella walked away. He did not follow her at first thinking that she wanted to be left alone, but, when she nearly slipped and fell as she tried to climb up the rocks, he ran after her. He followed her onto the rocks.

"Ella, are you okay?" he asked as she sat down on a rock.

He noticed that she was crying and hugged her. Seeing how cold she was, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"My mom had a heart attack on this rock," Gabriella sobbed. "And, then, she was gone. I miss my mom, Troy."

"It's okay," Troy said hugging her.

A few minutes later, Gabriella stopped crying. She had not cried when her mother died and all the emotions she had bottled up inside her had been let out. She looked up at Troy and he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

Troy found himself leaning towards Gabriella and she was not pulling away. Their lips were inches away when Troy's phone beeped. They quickly pulled away blushing as Troy checked his phone. He had a message from his father telling him to come home.

Troy drove Gabriella home. The ride was quiet. Neither one of them realized that Gabriella was wearing his jacket as she walked into her house. Troy was busy thinking about what had almost happened between them. He was definitely feeling something towards Gabriella. Something he had never felt with any other girl before. He just did not know what it was. Feeling confused, he drove home. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was Gabriella the only thing in his head all the time?

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**A/N Like it? Hate it? Let me know with a review:)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey, guys. Thanks for all the reviews. Here's the next chapter. R & R!!!**

* * *

On Monday, Troy saw Gabriella surrounded by her friends. He was about to go over to her when his own friends came.

"Dude," Chad said. "Was I mistaken or was there a hot chick in your house the other day?"

"That's Gabriella," Troy said. "She's Chloe's sitter."

"There's something more than that, right?" Chad grinned.

"I like her," Troy said, softly.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Chad grinned.

"I like her!" Troy exclaimed loudly.

"You like who?" Gabriella asked. Troy had not noticed her come over to them.

"Nobody," Troy said, quickly. "What's up?"

"I accidently took your jacket home," Gabriella said holding up his jacket.

"I was wondering where it was," Troy said. "Hey, do you want to sit with me during lunch?"

"I actually sit with my friends," Gabriella said gesturing towards her friends who had walked over to her.

"They can join us, too," Troy said giving them all a smile.

Gabriella glanced back at her friends who smiled at her letting her know that it was her decision to make.

"Okay," she smiled at Troy.

"Great," Troy grinned.

"Troy!" another voice yelled, sharply. Jack was walking towards them. "Matsui's office, now!"

"Okay, dad," Troy said as jack walked towards the principal's office. Troy turned his attention back to Gabriella. "I'll see you at lunch, then."

Quickly, he kissed her cheek in front of all their friends and ran after his father before Gabriella could react.

"What's going on with you and Troy?" one of her friends, Sharpay Evans asked. She saw her brother kissing his girlfriend, Kelsi Neilson. "Ryan, go away. And, leave Kels here."

"Fine," Ryan said and walked away. Zeke and Chad left too.

"Spill it, girl," Taylor McKessie said. "What's up with you and Troy?"

"Nothing," Gabriella said. "Remember how I said that I had a babysitting job. It was for Troy's sister and well we hung out on Saturday and all and I think he was about to kiss me, but, his phone rang. And, I really like him."

"That is so awesome, Gabs," Kelsi exclaimed.

"No, it isn't," Gabriella said as they headed towards their class. "He likes someone else. He just said that before you guys came."

"That isn't possible," Sharpay said.

"It is, Shar," Gabriella sighed. "Anything's possible."

With Troy...

"Dad, what's going on?" Troy asked as he ran after his father. He was still thinking about how soft Gabriella's cheek was.

"Matsui wants a replacement before I leave," Jack said.

"Okay," Troy shrugged. "Where do I come in, then?"

"You're exactly what Matsui's looking for," Jack said. "You're going to be the coach, but, you don't get to do anything the staff does, like go to meetings and all, but, you will get my salary."

Troy thought for a moment. "Okay," he shrugged as he followed his father into the principal's office.

"Mr. Matsui," Jack said. "Troy can be my replacement."

And then, Jack told him the conditions of Troy coaching the team. Surprisingly, Mr. Matsui agreed.

During lunch...

Troy was scanning the cafeteria for Gabriella. Finally, he spotted her on the lunch line. He waved at her and she smiled back. Gabriella and her friends walked over to the table.

"Hey, Troy," she smiled. "Um, this is Ryan, Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi."

"Hey, guys," Troy smiled. "This is Chad and that's Zeke."

There was an awkward silence. Gabriella and her friends were standing.

"Come on," Troy said. "Sit down. Unless you want to have your lunch while you're standing, because, that's fine with me."

Sharpay was the first one to sit down. She sat next to Zeke who had a bunch of cookies. He handed one to her.

"This is really good," she smiled taking a small bite and Zeke beamed.

Ryan sat next to Sharpay with Kelsi next to him. Taylor sat next to Kelsi leaving one only one seat next to Troy. Gabriella sat down next to him and he smiled at her.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," she said, softly.

Neither Troy nor Gabriella could keep the smiles off their faces.

"Why's everyone staring at us?" Gabriella asked noticing that everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them.

"Probably because there are more people sitting at this table today," Chad shrugged. "It's usually just me, Zeke and Troy."

Gabriella shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She did not like people staring at her.

"Hey, it's okay," Troy said as he squeezed her hand from under the table. "They can't hurt you."

"Oh, yes, they can," Chad exclaimed. "That head cheerleader girl. She scares the hell out of me."

"You're not helping," Zeke said hitting Chad's Afro.

"Watch the hair, man," Chad exclaimed slapping Zeke's hand away quickly.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Gabriella said. "We'll go to our usual table."

"No!" Troy exclaimed. "Stay. I promise I won't let anyone of those crazy cheerleaders hurt you."

He put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly and everyone started whispering. Gabriella looked around the room and saw that every eye was on her. Most looked surprised, but, none looked comforting.

"That's it," she said getting to her feet. "I'm out of here."

With that, she ran out of the cafeteria. Troy's face fell.

"Ella," Troy called after her and the whispers got louder hearing Troy's nick name for the freaky Math girl. He got up angrily and stared at everyone in the cafeteria. His voice rose as he yelled, "Will you all just shut up?"

And, then, he ran out of the cafeteria too with his lunch bag in hand. He looked around the hallway and spotted Gabriella standing by the coolers. He walked over to her.

"Why did you run out like that?" he asked.

"I don't want people staring at me," she said, softly not looking at you.

"Hey, look at me," he touched her chin softly and lifted it so that he could see her face. "People are going to stare when we start coming to school together once you move in to our house."

"I know," she said. "I have to get used to it."

"Yeah, you should," Troy smiled. "On the other hand, I can beat up every guy who looks at you and then soon no one will look at you."

"But, then, you will probably also be suspended from the school," she reminded him with a smile.

"We can't have that, can we?" he smirked. "I mean, what would the school do without the great Troy Bolton?"

Gabriella laughed and Troy smiled. He liked her laugh. He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Come on," Troy said taking her hand and leading her towards a door.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"You'll see," Troy said as he led her up the stairs.

Soon, Gabriella found herself in a beautiful garden. They were on the school roof.

"How did you find this place?" Gabriella asked as she looked around.

"Advantages of having my dad in the school staff," Troy grinned. "You can come to the school when it isn't open to everyone else and you can explore."

"This place is awesome," Gabriella exclaimed.

"And, the best part is," Troy said. "No one else knows about it. Not even Chad."

"And, you brought me here?" Gabriella asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah," Troy said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Um..." Troy's voice trailed off. He held up the brown bag in his hand. "Let's have lunch. I'm starving. We can talk later."

Gabriella stared at Troy pointedly and he looked away. He sat down on the bench and opened the bag. Gabriella sat down next to him.

"Tell me, Troy," Gabriella said when they had finished eating. "Why did you bring me up here?"

"I don't know," Troy said, awkwardly. "You're different from everyone else. And, I like different."

Gabriella blushed. Troy leaned closer to Gabriella. Their lips brushed against each other just as the bell rang making them both jump apart, blushing brightly.

"Come on," Troy said grabbing her hand and leading her downstairs. "We're late."

After school, Troy rushed out to the doors to meet Gabriella. She was waiting for him. No words were exchanged. After giving her a warm smile he led her to his car. The ride to Kevin's house was also quiet. Gabriella knew that Troy did not want to talk so she did not say anything.

"Kevin?" Troy called walking into the house.

"Troy," Kevin smiled walking over to him slowly. He spotted Gabriella. "Who is this beautiful lady?"

"This is Gabriella Montez," Troy said. "Ella, this is Kevin Scott."

"Montez?" Kevin asked. "Was your mother Maria?"

"Yes," Gabriella replied feeling a bit nervous.

"She was a great woman," Kevin said. "I was quite upset when I heard that she died. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," Gabriella said, quickly.

"Troy," Kevin said suddenly. "I have something for you."

Kevin disappeared into his room and came back with a small velvet box.

"This has been in my family for generations," Kevin explained. "And, my dad passed it on to me when I was a kid. He told me to give it to the right girl, when I found her. If I didn't, he told me to pass it on to my son. I have neither and you're been like a son to me, Troy. I want you to have this and when you find the right girl for you, I want you to give it to her. And, I have a feeling that Gabriella here would be the one wearing it."

Gabriella blushed as Troy opened the box. Inside was a silver locket in the shape of a heart. There was no necklace attached. It was only the locket.

"Thanks, Kevin," Troy said, softly as he accepted a hug from Kevin. "I'm going to miss you. When are you going to UK?"

"I changed the date to tonight," Kevin said. "I want to spend some time with my friends from UK, too."

Troy nodded. They stayed for a while before Kevin said that he wanted to take a nap and then Troy and Gabriella left.

Troy dropped Gabriella at her house.

"Thanks for coming with me," he said softly.

"You're welcome," she smiled.

Troy leaned over to kiss her just as a car honked from behind them. Both of them groaned silently. Troy quickly leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled.

"Bye," Gabriella smiled and got out of the car.


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday came. Jack, Amanda and Chloe were moving out and Gabriella was moving in. The entire gang had gathered at Troy's house to help with the move. Finally, it was time for jack, Amanda and Chloe to leave. Troy bent down to Chloe's height and gave her a hug.

"Don't forget about me, alright?" he told her. "And, I'll go and visit as much as I can."

"Chloe visit troy," Chloe told him happily.

"I doubt mom and dad will let you do that," he chuckled. "Bye, Chloe."

Chloe went off to the gang and Troy turned to his parents. His mother pulled him into a hug.

"Be good," she said. "And, don't get into trouble, okay?"

"I won't, mom," Troy replied.

Amanda turned to Gabriella and Troy turned to his father.

"Take care of yourself and Gabriella, alright?" Jack said giving Troy a hug. "And, tell her how you feel before someone beats you to it."

Troy blushed at Jack's last words. Troy put Chloe into her car seat as Amanda and Jack got in and waved as they drove away.

"Who's going to coach us, now?" Chad asked and Taylor slapped his arm.

"Is that all you can think about?" she asked.

"Come on, guys," Troy said. "We still have to move Ella's stuff in and paint her room and all."

"Can we paint it red?" Gabriella asked. "I've always wanted to have a red room."

"It's your room, now," Troy shrugged. He turned to Chad. "Why don't you and Zeke go and get the paint?"

"Where _is_ Zeke?" Chad asked.

"Sharpay has disappeared, too," Ryan said.

The rest of the gang went inside the house to find Sharpay and Zeke in a heavy make out session in Chloe's room.

"Guys," Gabriella said and the two jumped apart. "I'm going to live in this room."

"Sorry," Zeke said, sheepishly.

As the girls gathered into the room, the guys went downstairs and Chad and Zeke left to get the paint leaving Troy and Ryan in the kitchen.

"Let's order pizza," Troy said. "I'm starving."

After Troy put the phone down, he stared at Ryan.

"Dude, you have to help me," Troy said,

"What's up?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know," Troy said. "Every time I see Gabriella, I start sweating like crazy and I feel like my heart's skipping a beat and there's this fluttery feeling in my stomach and –"

"Dude," Ryan interrupted. "You're falling in love, man."

"With who?" Troy asked stupidly and Ryan glared at him.

"What are you guys talking about?" Gabriella asked walking into the kitchen with Kelsi, Taylor and Sharpay. The three occupied the last three stools in the kitchen leaving Gabriella with no seat.

"Nothing," Troy said shooting a look at Ryan who understood that Troy did not want Gabriella to know anything.

"Come on," Taylor said. "You guys must have been talking about something."

"Fine," Troy said pulling Gabriella onto his lap, who blushed brightly. "I'm falling."

"Excuse me?" Sharpay asked as all the girls looked confused.

"Look, I'm going to go clear my head a bit," Troy said and Gabriella got off his lap so that he could stand up. "I'll see you guys in a bit."

"What was he talking about?" Kelsi asked as Troy slammed the front door shut.

"You'll find out soon enough," Ryan said.

"I wish he'd talk to me," Gabriella sighed sitting down on the stool. She had fallen for Troy.

A while later, the door opened and Zeke and Chad walked in followed by Troy.

"He was trying to sneak away and leave us to do all the work," Chad said pointing at Troy with a paint brush as Zeke chuckled.

"Let's just get to work," Troy sighed. "I'll get the ladder."

Troy went out to the shed and got a ladder. Gabriella could not help staring at the muscles in his arms which flexed when he lifted the ladder up.

A while later, everyone was busy painting the room. Gabriella was on the ladder.

"You need some paint, Ella?" Troy asked.

"No, I'm good," Gabriella replied.

"Troy, won't you ask me whether I need some paint?" Chad smirked.

"Dude, are you on top of a ladder?" Troy glared at him.

"Whatever," Chad said. "I'm hungry. I'll be back in a bit."

As Chad turned to walk out of the room, he tripped over a tin of paint and crashed into the ladder. It was as if everything happened in slow motion. Gabriella screamed as the ladder wobbled dangerously. She lost her balance and fell off the ladder. Troy pushed Chad out of the way and caught Gabriella before she hit the ground and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. The tin of paint fell off the ladder and hit Troy's forehead hard, covering his head with red paint. Troy groaned.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked.

"I might as well ask you the same thing," Troy told her putting her down.

"I'm fine," she said. "Come on. Let's get the paint off your head."

"Nice going, Chad," Troy said as Gabriella took his hand and led him to the bathroom.

Troy let Gabriella wash the paint from his head. He winced slightly as her hand touched his forehead where the tin had hit. She withdrew her hand when Troy winced.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It hurts here," Troy said, looking in the mirror to see if there was a bump and touched his forehead.

"Let's wash the paint off and then get some ice," Gabriella suggested.

Ten minutes later, Troy was sitting on the kitchen counter as Gabriella got some ice for him. She stood between his legs as she placed the ice over his forehead.

"What were you talking about before?" she asked. "About you falling?"

"Oh, that," Troy said. "I was talking about falling in love."

"Oh," Gabriella said.

"Yeah," Troy said. "She's an awesome girl and I've known her only for a few days, but, I feel like I've known her forever."

"That's great, Troy," Gabriella said, forcing a smile.

She moved closer so that she could see his forehead properly.

"Ella," Troy said, softly noticing how close she was.

Gabriella looked up. She tried to take a step backwards, but, Troy stopped her by wrapping his arms around her small waist.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Something I've wanted to do since I met you," Troy said.

Before Gabriella could respond, he had leaned in and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. There was a loud cheer and the two broke apart to see the rest of the gang grinning at them.

"Please tell me that wasn't a mistake," Gabriella said softly so that only Troy could hear her.

"It wasn't a mistake," Troy smiled. "Why would it be a mistake?"

Gabriella smiled as Troy jumped off the counter. He spun her around and dipped her and then kissed her again, passionately. Chad finally pulled Troy away from Gabriella reminding the two that they were still there.

The gang spent the rest of the day at Troy's house helping to move Gabriella's furniture into the room and just hanging out.

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**A/N What did you think? Thanks for the reviews, guys. Keep 'em coming;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hey guys. Sorry for the late update. School has started and as I'm doing my O' Levels this year, updates will be slower, but, I'll try to update as much as I can. R & R!!!**

* * *

On Monday, Gabriella walked into the school with Troy feeling quite nervous. Troy had told her to ignore all the stares they were receiving. People had seen them together on Sunday and now girls were coming and asking Gabriella whether she was dating Troy. Gabriella, being the nice girl that she was, did not yell at them to go away.

The last period for the day had ended and Gabriella ran to the Chemistry lab for the decathlon meeting while Troy ran to the gym.

"Who's our new coach, Troy?" Chad asked as the team did their warm up exercises.

"I am," Troy said getting to his feet as Chad gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" Chad asked.

Troy went to the middle of the gym and clapped his hands together.

"Since my dad's gone now, I'm going to coach you guys," he said. "But, I will also be playing with you as I am your captain. One thing my dad wanted was for us to win the championship this year. So, we're going to do it for him, alright? This is our last year and we will remember this year's championship for a long time. Any questions?"

The team shook their head and started practice.

Practice was almost over when Gabriella and Taylor went into the gym.

"Those babes aren't here to watch us play!" Jeff Hudson exclaimed spotting the two ladies.

"Hey, number 14!" Gabriella yelled and Troy spun around. "Looking hot!"

Troy's face broke into a grin when he saw Gabriella. She blew him a kiss and he pretended to catch it and put it to his heart.

"Man, I should change my jersey number!" Jeff exclaimed.

Troy chuckled.

"Hey, guys!" he yelled and the team stopped playing. "Hit the showers!"

"Is practice over because the brunette blew you a kiss?" Jeff asked, smirking.

"Yup!" Troy grinned and headed over to Gabriella. He wrapped her arms around her and kissed her passionately. "Missed me?"

"Of course," Gabriella smiled. "You know you look really hot on the court."

"Hey, Troy," Chad said. "Let's play. You and Gabs against me and Tay."

"You any good?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"You'll see," Gabriella smirked.

The four began playing. Troy and Gabriella won by ten points. Gabriella was a great player and Taylor was a lousy one. Chad scored points, too, but Troy's defense was really good, too.

"Your girlfriend's too good, Troy," Chad said as he lay down on the gym floor with Taylor sitting next to him.

"Girlfriend?" Gabriella asked, softly.

"Well…yeah," Troy smiled, turning a bit red.

"Go take a shower, boyfriend," Gabriella smirked, pushing him.

"Come take one with me," Troy smirked and Gabriella's smile disappeared. Troy noticed. "I didn't mean that, Ella. I just said it for a joke. We can wait."

"Are you sure you can wait, Troy?" Gabriella asked, not catching his eye. "Because, you don't really seem like the kind of guy who would wait and I want to wait till I'm married."

"Ella, I'm not the kind of guy who goes around sleeping with random girls," Troy said. "And, I'm sure I can wait till we're married."

"You're planning on marrying me?" Gabriella asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah," Troy smiled. "I mean, I am planning on spending the rest of my life with you. I mean, I know I've known you for only a week and that we've been together for only two days and people say that you don't usually meet the one for you in high school, but, I'm absolutely positive that you are the one for me, Ella."

Gabriella blushed and looked away. Troy turned her face towards his and kissed her lips gently.

"I'll be right back," he said, pulling away.

"Okay," she smiled.

"Come on, Chad," Troy said kicking Chad's foot as he headed towards the boys' locker room.


	6. Chapter 6

Three weeks later, Troy and Gabriella were still going strong. People had got used to seeing them together and Gabriella had got used to people staring at her.

One morning, the couple walked towards the school hand in hand paying no attention to anyone, but, each other. They stopped outside by the fountain and sat down at the edge. Troy could not help leaning and kissing her passionately.

"Hey, hoops," Chad called running over to them and they pulled away. "Guess what?"

"Later, Chad," Troy said, not taking his eyes off Gabriella.

Gabriella giggled as Troy kissed her again.

"Gabriella!" Taylor called.

"I'll talk to you later, Tay," Gabriella called back.

"That's it!" Chad said walking over to the rest of the gang. "They are too much for me to handle. They live together, but, they don't have time for us! We have to talk to them."

Meanwhile, Troy and Gabriella had started to feel bad about how they had blown off their friends.

"Maybe we should go talk to them," Troy said. "I haven't hung out with Chad and the others in awhile. Everything's just been so crazy."

"Yeah, let's go," Gabriella said.

Troy got up and took her hand. Together, they walked into the school and saw their friends standing outside their homeroom class.

"We need to talk to you guys," Chad said when they got near.

"And, I want to talk to you, too, Chad," Troy said, slinging his arm loosely over Chad's shoulder.

"What about?" he asked.

"We haven't hung out in awhile," Troy said. "Just us guys."

"Now, you're talking!" Chad exclaimed.

"So, let's do something," Troy said.

"Get drunk at a club!" Chad exclaimed.

"No way," Troy said as Taylor thumped Chad's head. "I'm running a house now and I don't want to get drunk."

"Fine, Mr. Bossy," Chad said. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I was thinking more like hang out in our basement," Troy said. "Play some pool, table tennis, have sodas…that kind of stuff."

"Sounds good to me," Zeke said.

"How about it, Chad?" Troy asked.

"Dude, I've always loved hanging out in your basement," Chad said. "But, this time your mom's cookies won't be there, though."

"I'll make cookies for you guys," Gabriella volunteered.

"I love you!" Chad exclaimed, his eyes shining. "Dude, you always know how to pick them. Haven't I told you that? I've always told you that!"

"You've never told me that," Troy chuckled. "You're coming too, right, Ryan?"

"What?" Ryan looked surprised. Even though he was friends with everyone, he had never really considered himself as one of the 'guys'. He has always thought that the 'guys' were just Chad, Zeke and Troy.

"Yeah, man," Troy smiled, warmly knowing exactly what was going through Ryan's head. "You're one of us, now."

"I'll be there," Ryan smiled.

"And, Ella," Troy said turning his attention to Gabriella. "I'm going to have to ban you from the basement tonight."

"Yeah, like I ever go there," Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Anyway, _we_ – that means, us girls – are going to hang out, too."

"We are?" Taylor asked.

"Yup," Gabriella grinned. "And, you guys can't go upstairs."

"Deal!" Troy exclaimed.

"Deal!" Gabriella shot back.

"Shake on it," Chad said.

Troy solemnly took Gabriella's hand and shook it. Then, he pulled her towards him and kissed her. Everyone groaned.

"Bolton, Montez!" Ms. Darbus yelled. "Stop that at once or it will be detention for both of you!"

"Sorry, Ms. Darbus," Troy grinned. "But, I'm the coach in case you forgot. You aren't allowed to give me detention."

"Just get into the class, Troy," Ms. Darbus sighed.

Troy chuckled softly as he walked into the class after Gabriella with the rest of the gang behind him.

"Gabi, guess what?" Sharpay exclaimed running through the cafeteria to their table where Troy and Gabriella were already seated with Kelsi and Chad.

"What's up, Shar?" Gabriella asked.

"There's going to be a talent show," Sharpay explained. "Two weeks from, now!"

"Great," Gabriella smiled. "You should enter."

"I can't," Sharpay said sitting down. "I'm one of the judges. So is Ryan. Because we're co-presidents of the drama club."

"Oh," Gabriella said. "Well, then, maybe –"

"You should enter!" Sharpay exclaimed. "You'll win for sure. And, I'm not saying that just because you're my friend. You should sing, Gabi. Troy can play the guitar and Kelsi can play the piano. You'll find someone to play the drums, too."

"I'll do it," Chad volunteered.

"You?" Sharpay raised her eyebrow.

"He's a pretty good drummer," Troy told Sharpay.

"How about it, Gabs?" Kelsi asked.

"I don't know," Gabriella said.

"Come on, Gabster!" Chad exclaimed. "It'll be fun."

"Fine," Gabriella said. "But, if I go onstage and throw up, you guys have to throw up with me!"

"Done!" Troy grinned as everyone else laughed.

**A/N I know I haven't updated in a long time and I'm really sorry. I've been having tons of problems with my laptop and I'm doing my O' Levels this year and I'm really busy these days, but, I'll try and update as much as I can. Anyway, how about you all forgive me for updating so late and leave a review? ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

Two weeks later…

Troy, Gabriella, Chad and Kelsi were standing backstage on the day of the talent show. Gabriella was really nervous. They were the last act.

"I can't do this!" she finally exclaimed.

"Of course, you can!" Troy, Chad and Kelsi said at the same time.

"You'll do great, Ella," Troy smiled.

"And, if you throw up, we're throwing up with you, remember?" Chad grinned.

"Just calm down, Gabi," Kelsi said comfortingly.

"I can't calm down," she said, taking in deep breaths. It was true. She was far from being calm.

"What's your name?" Ms. Darbus asked walking over to them.

"Sorry?" Troy looked confused.

"The name of the group," Ms. Darbus said impatiently.

"Um…just call us…" Troy's voice trailed away as he thought for a moment. "Just call us '_A nervous wreck_'."

Ms. Darbus stared at him weirdly as the rest of the group giggled. Ms. Darbus walked onto the stage with the microphone.

"True to their name, they are quite nervous," Ms. Darbus began. "This is probably because it's their first time on stage. Their small group of four includes two of East High School's champion basketball players, the East High pianist and one of the smartest students in our school. Please welcome, Troy Bolton, Chad Danforth, Kelsi Neilson, and last but not least, Gabriella Montez – '_A nervous wreck_'."

The four walked onto the stage. Chad went to the drums and Kelsi went to the piano. Gabriella walked onto the center of the stage and stood behind the microphone. Troy stood a few feet away with his guitar.

'_This one's for you, mom,_' Gabriella thought as she closed her eyes.

Gabriella opened her eyes and nodded at Troy. Troy started playing and Chad and Kelsi followed. Gabriella opened her mouth and sang.

"I used to think,  
I had the answers to everything,  
But, now I know,  
That life doesn't always go my way,  
Yeah,  
It feels like I'm caught in the middle,  
That's when I realize.  
I'm not a girl, not yet a woman,  
All I need is time,  
A moment that is mine,  
While I'm in between,  
I'm not a girl."

Gabriella's voice was soft at first, but, as she went on singing, her voice gradually got stronger and she grew more confident.

"There is no need to protect me,  
It's time that I,  
Learnt to face up to this,  
On my own,  
Yeah.  
Feels like I'm caught in the middle,  
That's when I realize,  
I'm not a girl,  
Not yet a woman........

When Gabriella ended the song, everyone burst into applause. Gabriella took a quick bow with Troy, Chad and Kelsi and hurried off the stage.

"How'd I do?' she asked Troy.

"Amazing!' Chad answered before Troy could say a word.

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

Taylor came backstage and Chad hurried over to her.

"You did great," Troy whispered into Gabriella's ear.

Knowing that the couple would like some privacy, Kelsi went to join some of her friends from the drama club.

"Thank you," Gabriella said, smiling shyly.

Troy leaned in and kissed her gently.

"It is now time to announce the winners," Ms. Darbus announced. "There are five judges. Two of them are the co-presidents of the drama club, Miss Sharpay Evans and Mr. Ryan Evans. The next judge is out music teacher, Ms. Viola. Last but not least, we mustn't forget our principal, Mr. Matsui and then, there's me."

Gabriella squeezed Troy's hand slightly and leaned against him, hugging his arm. Troy looked down and smiled at her and he knew that he wanted to be with her forever. He _needed_ to be with her forever.

"The runner up is Miss Marilyn Carter," Ms. Darbus announced and the audience applauded. "she did a wonderful job with her puppets."

"The winner of this year's talent show is," Ms. Darbus paused dramatically. "_'A nervous wreck'_."

Gabriella froze. Then, she jolted back to reality as Kelsi hugged her.

"You did it, Gabs!" she exclaimed.

"We did it," Gabriella corrected her.

The four walked onto the stage grinning, happily.

"The winner receives a full scholarship to any university of her choice to study music," Ms. Darbus said.

"I think this gift is for Kelsi and Ella," Troy told Chad over the applause and he nodded.

Gabriella was all smiles that day when the gang gathered at Troy's house to celebrate. They ordered pizza and made ice cream sundaes. The girls sent the boys to the basement to play pool and they chatted while they did the dishes together.

"Zeke and I did it last night," Sharpay told them excitedly. "It was amazing."

She sighed at the memory and the girls laughed.

'This leaves only Gabi and Tay," Kelsi said handing a soapy dish to Taylor. She had lost her virginity to Ryan a long time ago.

"Actually," Taylor began slowly turning red as she rinsed the plate.

"What?" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Chad and I did it two weeks ago," Taylor said.

"That would be just a few days after you started dating him," Gabriella said in surprise.

"I know, but it felt right," Taylor told them.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kelsi asked.

"I didn't know how to tell you," Taylor said. "You might all have been saying that it was too soon and I didn't want that."

"Do you regret it?" Gabriella asked.

"No," Taylor said. "I have never regretted it."

"Then, it wasn't too soon," Gabriella told her, smiling at her wiping a plate and handing it to Sharpay to put it into the cupboard.

Taylor smiled back gratefully.

"So, when are you and Troy going to do it?" Taylor asked Gabriella. "I bet you'll do it tonight."

"Did you forget, Tay?" Sharpay asked. "Gabi is keeping her virginity till she's married."

"That was before she had a steady boyfriend," Taylor said.

"Whether I have a steady boyfriend or not, I'm staying as a virgin till I'm married," Gabriella said, firmly.

"Is Troy okay with that?" Kelsi asked.

"Is Troy okay with what?" Troy asked walking into the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked.

"I live here," Troy reminded her.

"I meant, here in the kitchen," Gabriella said.

"I came to get a water bottle," Troy said. "Anyway, what am I okay with?"

"Waiting," Taylor said.

"Excuse me?" Troy asked, confused. He turned to Gabriella. "Help me out here?"

"They're talking about what we talked about in the gym the other day after practice," Gabriella explained. "The day we played against Chad and Tay."

"Oh, that," Troy said. "Yeah, I'm fine with waiting."

"You are?" Kelsi asked.

"Why not?" Troy asked.

He walked out of the kitchen and the girls rounded on Gabriella.

"He must really love you a lot," Sharpay said.

"I don't think he'll be able to wait," Taylor said.

"What are you talking about?" Sharpay asked.

"He's a guy," Taylor said. "And, guys don't wait like that."

"Are you saying that he's going to cheat on Gabs and they're going to break up?" Sharpay asked angrily.

"Yes," Taylor said.

"Are you stupid?" Sharpay asked, angrily.

"Guys!" Gabriella snapped. "Drop it, okay?"

"But," Taylor began.

"I said, drop it!" Gabriella said, sharply.

That evening, after everyone left, Gabriella lay on the couch and dozed off. Troy, who was cleaning up the basement, came and smiled when he saw her. He threw the rubbish away and took the garbage out. Then, he went to the living room and picked her up – bridal style – and carried her upstairs to her room. He lay her on the bed and turned to leave.

"Troy," Gabriella called.

"What's up, pretty girl?" Troy asked walking over to the bed.

Gabriella did not say anything. Instead, she pulled him onto the bed and kissed him. Troy was confused at first, but, kissed back quickly. When the need for air was essential, they pulled apart.

"I thought you were sleepy," Troy said.

"That was before I saw the muscles in your arms when you lifted me up," Gabriella smirked.

Troy's eyebrows rose, but he was unable to say anything when Gabriella pulled him into another kiss. Her hands slid under his shirt and ran her fingers down his well-toned chest.

"Gabriella?" Troy said more confused than ever.

"I want this off," Gabriella said tugging at his shirt.

"What?" Troy looked even more surprised.

"I want this off," Gabriella repeated tugging at his shirt harder.

Troy pulled off his shirt hoping that Gabriella would not notice the bulge that had started to form in his pants.

"Gab –" Troy broke off as Gabriella pushed him so that he was lying flat on his back.

Gabriella covered his sweaty chest with butterfly kisses. Troy could not help moaning, softly. He felt another bulge in his pants. Gabriella noticed, too. Boldly, she stroked him over his jeans. Troy felt like his pants would rip off at any second.

All of a sudden, Troy jumped up from the bed.

"Ella, if you go on, I won't be able to stop," he said trying to adjust his pants so that his bulge would not be so obvious, but, he was unsuccessful.

"Maybe I don't want you to stop," Gabriella said seductively.

"Are you drunk?" Troy asked.

"No," Gabriella said. "Why?"

"Because, you want to wait till you're married before you lose your virginity," Troy said. "And, now you're saying you want to have sex."

Gabriella looked away. Troy sighed and sat down next to her. He turned her face so that she was facing him.

"What happened, Ella?" Troy asked.

"Taylor said that you wouldn't be able to wait and that you'd cheat on me and break up with me and leave me and I don't want you to leave me," Gabriella said in a rush.

"I would never leave you, Ella," Troy said. "I can wait till you're married, but, if you want to do this now…"

"I want to wait, Troy," Gabriella said. "I'm sorry for acting this way."

"It's okay," Troy said kissing her gently.

"What are you going to do about that?" Gabriella asked smirking as she pointed to his bulge.

"Cold shower?" Troy asked blushing as he tried to adjust his pants.

"Isn't there another way?" Gabriella asked. She hated cold showers.

"Actually," Troy began, but, then shook his head. "Never mind."

Gabriella realized what he was going to say.

"This is your fault," Troy smirked. "I'm going to take a shower."

Troy left the room. Gabriella thought for a second before she quickly pulled off her shirt and jeans leaving her in a lacy thong and bra, through which her nipples were visible.

She looked at herself in the mirror and then put on her robe. She grabbed a tube of body chocolate which she had got from Sharpay's bag that day after the conversation in the kitchen and put it into her robe's pocket. Then, she went to Troy's room. He had stripped down to his boxers and was about to enter the bathroom when she walked into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Troy asked.

"Stay there," she said. Troy was standing next to a chair.

"Ella," Troy began uncertainly.

"Like you said," Gabriella said putting on some music. "It's my fault and I'd be glad to help."

Troy's eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open when Gabriella took off her robe.

Slowly, Gabriella moved her hips from side to side. Troy tried to cover his huge bulge with his hands. Gabriella took off her bra sexily with her back to Troy. She held the bra over her breasts and turned.

"Should I take it off?" she smirked.

Troy was unable to say a word and Gabriella took it as a yes. She grinned as she turned back around so that her back was facing Troy. She took off her bra, grabbed the body chocolate from her robes and turned around, this time; her hands were covering her nipples. Troy felt that his silk boxers would rip off when Gabriella strutted over to him.

"Sit," she ordered.

Troy obediently sat down. He watched as Gabriella removed her hands from her breasts. suddenly, all Troy could see was Gabriella's rounded breasts. he gulped. As Gabriella opened the body chocolate and applied some onto each of her nipples.

"Lick it," she ordered again.

"Wait," Troy said. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Gabriella nodded, touched that he was asking her. "And, Troy, I was wondering whether…"

"Yeah," Troy looked at her expectantly.

"I was wondering whether you could show me how it feels when you have an…you know…" her voice trailed away. "I want to know what I'm missing."

Troy smiled. He nodded. He made her stand up and took off her thong and pulled her back onto his lap. Then, he took her nipple in his mouth and started sucking on it, while his hands went down to her thighs. He used his middle finger and his index finger to pull apart her folds and used his thumb to rub her clitoris. Gabriella moaned and threw her head back. Troy removed his mouth from her breast and went to the other one and started doing the same. Using his other hand, he stuck a finger into Gabriella's opening. Gabriella moaned louder and he groaned as he felt his cock harden even more. He did not think that it was even possible. He stuck another finger in and then added one more. Then, he began pumping three fingers in and out of her opening. Gabriella's breathing got faster. He buried his head in between her breasts and quickened his movements.

"Troy!" Gabriella shrieked.

"Let it all out," Troy grunted.

He rubbed her clitoris and suddenly, Gabriella's body went limp as she came. When she caught her breath, she looked at Troy.

"Thank you," she said, smiling shyly.

Troy smiled and kissed her. "My pleasure."

"My turn," Gabriella said.

She got off his lap and pulled Troy up. She lowered his boxers and pushed him down. Gabriella could not help staring at Troy's huge cock.

"Ella, you don't have to," Troy said hurriedly.

"I'm just surprised," Gabriella said. "I had no idea that you were this big."

Troy grinned. And, then, without any warning, she took him in her mouth and started sucking at a steady rhythm. She bit and sucked and swirled her tongue round his cock. Troy's breathing got heavier and he clutched Gabriella's hair. Gabriella increased her pace as she massaged his balls.

"Ella," Troy grunted as his head rolled back. "I'm…I'm going to cum."

He spit out the four words between deep breaths and at the last moment, Gabriella removed her mouth and he came. Before he could catch his breath properly, Gabriella took him in her mouth again and repeated her actions. Within seconds Troy cam again. Like before, Gabriella let go of him before he came.

Once again, Gabriella took him in her mouth.

"Ella," he panted. "Wait!"

Gabriella let go of him with a small 'pop' sound.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

When Troy caught his breath, he shook his head.

"No," he said quickly. "You just made me cum twice in like five minutes. That was definitely the best five minutes of my life, but, if you had done that again before I could breathe properly, I wouldn't have been able to breathe at all."

Gabriella giggled.

"I pulled out at the end," she said looking away. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Troy told her quickly.

He looked at her for a minute and then turned her face so that she was facing him.

"It's okay," he repeated.

"I'm going to take a shower," Gabriella said at last.

"Me, too," Troy said.

After taking a shower, he went to Gabriella's room only wearing his shorts, shaking the water from his hair with his fingers as he went. He knocked gently.

"Come in," he heard Gabriella call.

Troy opened the door and walked in. Gabriella was lying on her bed, half asleep. He closed the door gently and walked over to the bed. He knelt down next to Gabriella and smiled. She was so beautiful. Gabriella smiled sleepily, too.

"I love you," he whispered.

Gabriella froze for a moment. It was the first time he had ever said that. She had known that he loved her, but, he had never told her in words.

"I love you, too," she smiled.

Troy leaned in and their lips met. When air was essential, Troy pulled away.

"Troy, will you hold me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled and got into bed next to Gabriella. He wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head on his bare chest listening to his heartbeat.

"Good night, Troy," Gabriella said, softly as her eyes closed.

"Night, Ella," Troy said, sleepily before dozing off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N Well, what do you think? The song is 'I'm not a girl, not yet a women' by Britney Spears. Let me know, whether you like it from a review=)**


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